Music reviews

Pleasing violin trio

G J R Krishnan and Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi, children of Lalgudi Jayaraman, are well-established musicians. Srimathi Brahmanandam was a familiar artiste till she shifted to a foreign country. After settling in US, she rarely performs here. Hence, connoisseurs were eager to hear her concert last week. It was packed with few familiar melodies, known in the ‘Lalgudi School’.

‘Sri Mahaganapathe’ gave them a good start. ‘Koluvaiyunnade’, the Krithi of Tyagaraja was a befitting selection, as it was ‘Rama Pattabhisheka’ day. Sreemathy Brahmanandam, who played the violin sitting on a chair, briefly elaborated the ‘Ramachandra Bhavayami’ which was pleasing, but fell short in its impact, may be due to age! Another Keerthane of Tyagaraja. ‘Mokshamugalada’, is a favourite of connoisseurs.
Vijayalakshmi invested the Latangi with melodic fervour. Shankarabharana brought Krishnan's accomplishments to the fore. The trio presented the ‘Swara Ragasudha’ with the authentic stamp of ‘Lalgudi Baani’. Seasoned percussionists Arjun Kumar and Ullur Giridhara Udupa gave good support on the mridanga and ghata respectively.

Impressive vocal duet

R Vijayalakshmi and R Chitra (Mambalam sisters), performing at the same samithi, attracted a sizeable audience to their vocal concert. The familiar varna ‘Chalame’ gave them a bright start and was followed by ‘Yela Nee Dayaradu’. The ‘Ganamurthe’ was embellished with pleasing phrases.

Incidentally they also chose ‘Marivere’, which proved the popularity of the composition. The evocative raga Nilambari (a lesser-known Kriti of Ponnaiah Pillai) was sung with good feeling. ‘Nagumomu’ was moulded into an essay of aesthetic finesse. After the ‘Annapurne’ the Kedaragowla acquired a special delight for the Pallavi. The tail enders - ‘Aananda’ (a wedding song), ‘Laalisidalu Yashoda’ and Bhajore Radhe Govinda - were impressive, with lilting melody, and concluded with a Thillana of Veena Seshanna.
Dr Hemalatha on Violin, Shivakumar on Mridanga, K S Rangachari on khanjari and S Srishyalan on ghata, played with good understanding.

Lively jugalbandi

A cultural and religious festival was organised by the Aavani Shankar Mutt in connection with the ‘Vardhanthi’ of Sri Vidyashankara Bharathi Swamijee. A flute jugalbandi attracted a large gathering.

M K Pranesh on Karnatic flute and Praveen Godkhindi on the Hindustani Bansuri regaled the audience, under the direction of Anoor Anantha Krishna Sharma. The familiar varna in Abhogi helped them bring about a fine musical atmosphere.

The Natakuranji piece was brief, but was redolent with fine touches, and a few glittering phrases enhanced the impact of Kalyani.

The spirited rendition of Keervani was enlivening too. Six percussionists - Anoor Ananthakrishna Sharma (mridanga), Guruprasanna (khanjari), Prasannakumar (morching), Manjunath (rhythmpad), Kiran Godkhindi and Udayrajkarpoor (tabla) - gave excellent support.